(Warning: Spoilers for Dune, both the book and the films) Though Denis Villeneuve was fairly true to the spectrum portrayed Frank Herbert's novel, Dune, in the casting of his 2021 film of the same name, there was one key change that he made to the main cast of characters-- he gender-swapped the role of planetologist … Continue reading A Savior of Dune?
Book Review: Around the World in 80 Books
Around the World in 80 Books by David DamroschNonfiction432 pagesPublished: November 16, 2021 by Penguin Publishing Group In January 2020, David Damrosch was developing a plan. He was going to follow in the footsteps of Jules Verne's legendary hero, Phileas Fogg, and travel around the world and in so doing, reflect on the books he … Continue reading Book Review: Around the World in 80 Books
Sunday Sum-Up: November 14, 2021
It's been a rather gloomy week around here, with cold temperatures, rain, and a bit of snow. I was happy to see the snow, even if there was too little of it and too much wind for it to actually collect. But it was a reminder that winter is on its way, and that makes … Continue reading Sunday Sum-Up: November 14, 2021
StoryGraph Saturday: Vinland
StoryGraph Saturday is a weekly thing where I randomly choose a book from my To Read pile on StoryGraph and show it off to both remind myself that it’s there and to show it to you in case you might find it interesting, too. Vinlandby George Mackay BrownHistorical Fiction256 pagesPublished in 1993 From The StoryGraph: … Continue reading StoryGraph Saturday: Vinland
Six Books I Didn’t Expect to Love
If you've followed this blog for very long, you'll have figured out that fantasy is my favorite genre, followed by historical fiction and science fiction. These are huge genres that have a lot to offer, and it's easy to spend most-- or all-- of a reading life within a single genre. But I like to … Continue reading Six Books I Didn’t Expect to Love
Book Haul: The Lord of the Rings, illustrated edition
Last spring or so, I found out that a new edition of The Lord of the Rings was coming out and that it would include illustrations of Tolkien himself, who in addition to being a philologist, Oxford don, husband, and father, was also a wonderful illustrator. While some editions of The Lord of the Rings … Continue reading Book Haul: The Lord of the Rings, illustrated edition
Sunday Sum-Up: November 7, 2021
So my week was taken over by British television. Not that that's particularly unusual for me, as British television is On Brand for me, but I hadn't actually intended it to happen. I discovered that the adaptation of Ann Cleeves' book, The Long Call would be available on BritBox, so I got the one-week trial, … Continue reading Sunday Sum-Up: November 7, 2021
Movie Review: Dune (2021)
DuneDirected by Denis VilleneuveStarring: Timothée Chalamet, Rebecca Ferguson, Oscar Isaac, Josh Brolin, Jason Momoa, Stellan Skarsgård, Dave Bautista, ZendayaRuntime: 2h 35mRating: PG-13 (Spoilers for both film and book versions of Dune) In the far-flung future, humanity has expanded its domain across the galaxy and settled back into an imperial form of government where entire planets … Continue reading Movie Review: Dune (2021)
Star Trek Book Tag
It's been a minute since I've done a book tag. I'd been thinking of doing one soon but I had no idea which one to do, as there are quite a few out there. Then I saw ZeZee's entry fot the Star Trek Book Tag, and I thought, 'Yes! I'll do that one!' I'm a … Continue reading Star Trek Book Tag
October Summary, November Preview
Why does October always pass so quickly? It's such a great month. It should stick around longer. November is always a busy month around here, and I want the laid-back October vibes to linger on. Alas. It is November. At least the weather has turned beautifully cool and the leaves have changed to some lovely … Continue reading October Summary, November Preview
Traveling in Books 